Bill targets smugglers flying ultralight planes

WASHINGTON - An Arizona Democrat and a Nevada Republican have joined forces on a bill to strengthen the punishment for drug smugglers who use ultralight aircraft to cross the Southwest border.

The bill introduced by Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., would close a loophole in the law that exempts smugglers who use ultralights from the strong penalties that can be imposed against smugglers who use traditional planes or motor vehicles.

The legislation would set the penalty for smuggling drugs across the border in ultralight planes at up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Low-flying ultralights have become a popular tool for smugglers because they are cheap and difficult to detect and can drop drug loads to the ground without having to land.

On Sunday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) sent two F-16 fighter jets to southern Arizona to intercept an ultralight aircraft that had entered the state's airspace from Mexico. The ultralight turned around and returned to Mexico.

According to Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operation Center in Riverside, Calif., there were 193 suspected incursions and 135 confirmed incursions over the border by ultralights from Oct. 1, 2009, through April 15 of this year.